


Shapeshifting

by JustAnAnxiousMess



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Cat Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Genderbending, M/M, Manipulation, Minor Violence, Multi, Pre-Episode: Accepting Anxiety, name reveal from Virgil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:13:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27024847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnAnxiousMess/pseuds/JustAnAnxiousMess
Summary: Virgil embraces the ability to shapeshift in his own time and uses it to mess with everyone but it backfires. While also dealing with the fall out of revealing one of his biggest secrets, a plot begins to unravel in the shadows.Disclaimer: I wrote this when struggling with my own gender identity so this is partially a manifest of my issues with gender and my habit of repressing and avoiding things. It's also a little embarrassing as my writing style has shifted a lot since i wrote this but i thought i might as well post it here.
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

"you guys can shapeshift."

Those five words sealed my fate as suddenly I found myself forcibly shifted into each of Thomas's friends.

My advice and demands for them to stop changing me were ignored and even though Thomas admitted I was right in the end I still felt annoyed and upset.

As soon as I could I escaped to my room, shut the door and let out the tears I'd been forcing down.

I spent hours in my room, crying sad tears and crying angry tears. In all that time no one even knocked on my door to see if I was alright. I thought how annoyed and upset I had been in the video was obvious to them so either they didn't realise or they didn't care.

My room steadily got darker as time went past and I couldn't be bothered to get up and turn on my light so as night fell I found myself sitting in the dark. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply through my nose before managing to struggle to my feet.

Because the others were so obsessed with the shape shifting thing I decided to try something.

I closed my eyes and thought hard about exactly what I wanted. As I felt my body morphing into the shape I'd imagined an evil grin made its way onto my lips. This was going to be fun.

I walked into my bathroom and turned the light on, squinting my eyes so I wasn't immediately blinded by the sudden light. I glanced in the mirror and was proud of how well I'd done. If I hadn't known it was me I would have thought it was a completely different person.

I ran a hand through my hair and marvelled at the amazing side fringe I'd created for myself.

I smirked at myself in the mirror and decided to try and get an early night. Tomorrow would be fun.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day when I woke up I immediately dashed into the bathroom to do my makeup and I marvelled at how well I could pull it off as a girl. The eye shadow was a lot neater and I made sure to do a wing on my eyes using eyeliner. I managed to find some old dark red lipstick and applied that too. If I were into females I'd probably be drooling at the sight of my reflection. I shook my head and wandered towards my wardrobe and wondered what to wear.

Suddenly I had an idea and delved into the very depths of my wardrobe where I had a couple items of clothing from where I'd had a friend round once. She hadn't stayed long due to the others attitudes but she'd left some clothes and they were perfect.

I put them on and grinned at how they managed to fit me perfectly. Everything was set and all I needed to do now was choose my first target.

I carefully snuck out of my room and made my way into the kitchen where I spotted Patton making breakfast.

I walked up to him with a small smile on my face and tapped him on the shoulder. "hey, any chance of a girl getting some food?" I asked, my voice altered too so he didn't recognise me.

I noticed his shock at first but he immediately smiled and offered me a plate of pancakes.

"oh these look amazing, I bet you're a brilliant cook." I said relishing at how red I was making Patton with all the compliments. I never really got to show him how much I appreciated him when I was in my actual form so I decided I should be completely genuine with him like this.

I heard noise behind me and I resisted the urge to turn around. I knew it was Roman because Logan liked to get some work in before eating.

I heard a sharp intake of breath and fought down a smirk. It seemed Roman had noticed me. He was caught off guard so I knew it would take a while before he got the courage up to speak.

I turned and sat down at the table, pretending not to notice him until he sat down with his own pancakes and decided to introduce himself.

"why hello there fair maiden, my name is Prince Roman but you can call me Roman." he sounded confident and arrogant as usual but I decided how I was going to mess with him.

"oh wow am I sorry I didn't see you before. You're just so... Dreamy." I managed to make myself sound wistful and flirty while deep-down I kind of wanted to be sick. I didn't like Roman, no matter what the 'prinxiety' shippers said.

Roman seemed slightly taken aback by how forward I was but I ignored that and leant on one hand with a sigh, staring at him with longing. I was so glad Thomas had good acting skills or I'd never be able to pull all this off.

Roman seemed to like my attention and was getting flustered but I could hear Logan coming and I braced myself for his reaction.

"good morning everyone." he said and walked over to the kitchen side to make himself some coffee.

"good morning" I replied and watched as he froze and turned round in confusion.

"I don't believe we've met. My name is Logan, who might you be?" he asked, his tone one of polite intrigue.

I had to think quick for a name but decided to create a female version of myself.   
"nice to meet you Logan, my name is Victoria." I said in a curious tone.

He made up his coffee and sat the other side of me, as usual doing his work at the breakfast table, despite Patton constantly telling him not to.

"what's that you've got there?" I asked and smiled at him when he looked up at me.

"this is the work I need to complete by the end of the day." he said.

I pretended to hang on his every word and said "that's incredible efficient. That frees up time you can use for your own leisure."

Logan seemed happy with that and gave a pointed look at Patton who rolled his eyes and said "although it's efficient its incredibly rude and not the way to spend quality family time."

I looked at Patton then to Logan who rolled his eyes and shut his notebook reluctantly.

"um, Logan? Could I maybe look at your notebook?" I asked in a shy voice, ignoring the splutter of Roman who obviously didn't think I was an intellectual girl. I fought from rolling my eyes at his habit of judging a book by its cover and kept my gaze on Logan.

He reluctantly handed it to me, open on a page I knew was some of his more complicated stuff. It seemed he was trying to test me.

I glanced at it and felt glad that I actually knew this. It was a massive piece of text about the possibilities of others having the ability to physically manifest their personalities. I had actually had a couple theories myself and now was the perfect time to share them.

"oh wow, these are brilliant theories. I have always wondered if there's a possibility of physically manifested traits having their own physically manifested traits and if maybe the process is like an ouroboros and constantly goes in a never ending loop."

I glanced up at the three of them and saw the shocked looks on all their faces. Logan recovered the quickest, an incredibly pleased expression on his face.

"That is a rather interesting theory, I hadn't considered that possibility and I'm glad you brought it up. I have more work to do now." he said, a large smile on his face as he went to take back the notebook before stopping.

"seeing as you've finished your breakfast would you mind writing it down for me?" he asked, aware of the glare he was getting from Patton and I let out a small laugh.

"why of course." I replied eagerly and took the pen he gave me. I carefully wrote in my fanciest cursive writing and heard a soft sigh of happiness from my left. I knew he was a bit obsessed with calligraphy and aesthetically pleasing handwriting just like me which is why I had perfected that type of hand writing.

I handed him back the notebook and decided to see how Roman would react if I mentioned Disney.

"have you ever gotten a sense of existentialism due to the movie Inside Out?" I said and watched as both Patton and Roman perk up.

Logan seemed to consider me after that comment too and I held back a pleased smirk. This was fun.

Roman seemed to still be shocked at me being smart and interested in Disney. It seemed he was too caught up in the way I looked and dressed so he'd made an assumption.

Hmm time to completely blow his mind then. I stood up with my plate and washed it up in the sink before Patton could object. "it's alright, I don't mind helping out with chores." I said with a smile.

Romans eyes seemed to be glued to me and I went to walk out of the room and paused as if a thought struck me. "I hope you don't mind a little bit of noise but I'm going to be practicing some singing and instruments."

I watched as Logan and Romans eyes lit up while Patton replied "of course not, Roman here is nearly always singing."

I let a large smile appear on my lips and thanked him before walking out to where the 'hobby' room was. It was pretty much the same as the lounge except it was larger and had a bunch of consoles, games, a couple instruments, board games, art supplies and a whole load of other things.

I immediately went to the instruments and decided to play the piano. I could still play a bunch of my usual songs but the piano wasn't quite as in your face as the guitar was.

I tested each key to check its tune and when I was satisfied I started to play.

It wasn't long until Roman entered and started listening to me play. I ignored him and let myself be lost in the music and when I opened my eyes as I hit the last note I got applause from all three of the others.

I felt a slight blush work it's way onto my face which was genuine. I'd never had the courage to play in front of anyone before but in this form I felt braver.

"that was incredible." Roman said and I blushed again, not used to compliments despite it coming from Roman.

Patton embraced me in a hug which I returned and said "Thanks, it's very rare that I let people listen to me play but I feel like you're much supportive than the people I'm used to."

It was technically true because when I was in my original form they usually ignored me or criticised me.

Roman saw his chance and put a hand on my arm and said "would you care to do a duet with me?"

I shifted nervously, I was still the embodiment of anxiety but I managed to play it down.

"um, I usually tend to sing by myself. I've never done a duet with someone. Sorry." I said in a quiet voice, looking down at my feet.

"it's alright Victoria, you could always just sing on your own if you'd prefer? Or you could attempt to do a duet?" said Patton comfortingly.

I smiled and said "no it's alright, I'll do a solo song and then maybe I'll attempt a duet?" I glanced at where Logan was sitting reading and then to Roman who was paying all his attention to me.

Patton smiled and I quickly tried to think of a song that I could sing that would be away from my usual 'pg13 music' as the others liked to refer to it.

I thought of one and braced myself.

"I'm going through the same day  
Same place, same way I always do  
Then I saw you from the corner of my eye  
And it hit me like a ton of bricks  
I can't lie  
Oh you got to me

My life was alright living in black and white  
But you changed my point of view  
Show me your colors  
show me your colors  
Cuz without you I'm blue  
(Without you I'm blue)

CHORUS:  
Hurry up and save me  
Hurry up and save me  
Hurry up and save me  
Hurry up and save me  
I just wanna feel alive  
And I do when I'm with you  
Hurry up and save me  
Hurry up and save me  
Hurry up and save me  
Hurry up and save me  
I just wanna feel alive  
And I do when I'm with you  
(Show me your colors  
Show me your colors)

I have to have control of myself  
My thoughts my mind  
Coz the way it's going down  
In my life I feel like a prisoner  
In a lie   
Are you feeling me

Cuz the way you make my  
Break my shake my walls around  
I feel like I'm breaking out  
Show me your colors  
Show me your colors  
Cuz without you I'm blue  
(Without you I'm blue)

CHORUS:  
Hurry up and save me  
Hurry up and save me  
Hurry up and save me  
Hurry up and save me  
I just wanna feel alive  
And I do when I'm with you  
Hurry hurry up)  
Hurry up and save me (Save me)  
Hurry up and save me (Save you)  
Hurry up and save me (Save me)  
Hurry up and save me  
I just wanna feel alive  
And I do when I'm with you

My window's opened up  
Tonight I'm crawling out  
Will you be there are you waiting  
Will you be there will you save me  
(So just leave me, so just leave me)

(Save me, save me) You can save me  
(Save me, save me) I know you can save me  
I know you can save me  
So just, so just save me  
Without you I'm blue

CHORUS:  
Hurry up and save me  
Hurry up and save me  
Hurry up and save me  
Hurry up and save me  
I just wanna feel alive  
And I do when I'm with you  
Hurry up and save me (I'm blue)  
Hurry up and save me (Are you)  
Hurry up and save me (Are you)  
Hurry up and save me (Are you)  
I just wanna feel alive  
And I do when I'm with you  
Hurry up and save me (Save me)  
Hurry up and save me (Save me)  
Hurry up and save me (Save me)  
Hurry up and save me (Save me)  
I just wanna feel alive  
And I do when I'm with you  
Hurry up and save me (Save you)  
Hurry up and save me (Save me)  
Hurry up and save me (Save you)  
Hurry up and save me (Save me)  
I just wanna feel alive  
And I do when I'm with you (Save you)  
Save me, save me..."

I got to the end of the song and opened my eyes, only just realising I'd closed them. There was silence for a second and I felt my face going red until there was loud applause from Roman and Patton. I glanced at Logan and was surprised to see him looking at me over his book.

Usually nothing disturbed his reading.

"where is that song from?" asked Roman and I looked at him in confusion. I was sure he'd seen the film Another Cinderella Story.

"it's from that film you watched last week." Logan said and I noticed Roman give Logan a glare before covering it up.

"ah yes, I remember now, thanks Logan." I pretended not to hear the annoyance in Romans voice.

Patton seemed to feel awkward because he suddenly interrupted with "that was amazing, you're probably a better singer than Roman here."

I looked down, letting my hair hide my face as if I was embarrassed but really I was trying to hide the smirk that appeared after hearing that.

"really? Why don't you sing something Roman?" I said with a shy smile, holding back a laugh and he got flustered and barely managed to nod.

He immediately burst into song and I frowned as it was another Disney song. I was starting to believe he only knew Disney songs.

When he finished he looked to me with a smile and I asked "forgive me if I sound rude but do you know anything that's not Disney? I feel like I'd have more of an idea of your vocal range if you sung something else."

Roman seems shocked and I heard a small chuckle that turned into a cough. I glanced at Logan and noticed he'd hidden behind his book but he was shaking as if he was trying not to laugh out loud.

Roman stuttered slightly before Logan interrupted him. "He tends to stick to Disney songs. If you want to attempt a duet with him it will more than likely be Disney." his voice was amused and he put down his book to walk over to us.

Roman was scowling at Logan now and Patton seemed unsure what to do.

"I'm going to go check on Thomas, you guys behave." Patton eventually said and he walked out of the room leaving me with Logan and Roman.

From the looks of it they seemed to be fighting for my attention and this was new to me so I had no way of stopping them. Although it was pretty fun so even if I did know I'd probably let them continue.

Logan had gotten up close to Roman and muttered something I couldn't hear but Roman looked pretty angry.

I looked at the other things in the room and decided to pick up the electric guitar that I usually used.

I strummed it a couple times and was glad when they both looked at me.

"um, that guitar actually belongs to someone." Logan said which made me want to smile because he was trying to look out for my belongings.

"I'll be careful with it." I said and gently strummed the strings but the way the other two kept their eyes locked on me as if the guitar would disintegrate the second they looked away was off putting.

Eventually I sighed and put the guitar back down. "So I can see lots of things in here but what else do you guys do during your free time?"

Roman was eager to recount all the adventures he'd been on and I was glad when Logan interrupted.

"I usually use my free time to study and think over theories. It's a particularly enjoyable activity." He said and I nodded, that seemed about right.

"what about the others? I understand Roman goes on adventures and things but..." I let my sentence hang unfinished and Roman managed to find his voice.

"Patton tends to bake cookies and stuff, he enjoys looking after people and eating food." Roman sounded slightly put out that I hadn't been paying attention to him.

I nodded and looked around again, starting to feel the awkwardness creeping up on me again.

Logan broke the silence by asking "would you like a tour?"

I nodded and replied "yes please if it's not too much effort."

Logan and Roman both wanted to take me on a tour so I just let them do their thing while pretending to not know certain things.

"and down this corridors are our bedrooms." Roman said and I said "yeah I know." without thinking.

"what do you mean you know?" Logan said. "are you some sort of spy sent to scope mouth Thomas's mind and then informing others on how to attack it?"

I was flustered by the sudden accusation and blurted out "no nothing like that at all, it's just I know because I spend time with Virgil and..." I immediately paled as I realised I'd just dropped my real name.

Roman was oblivious but Logans pragmatic mind immediately drew the right conclusion. "you mean Anxiety? His name is Virgil?" he said looking interested.

"No, no no no no! I can't believe I just said that!" I wailed grabbing my head in my hands and holding back tears.

"what's wrong?" Roman asked.

I ignored him and tried to control my breathing. I was on the edge of a very large panic attack.

Logan placed a hand on my shoulder and said "it's alright, we were bound to find out eventually."

I shook my head and whispered "you don't understand. He made me promise to never tell anyone, especially you guys."

Suddenly a voice from the doorway said "what's happened?"

We looked round to see Patton staring at us all with concern on his face.

Roman answered "we found out that Anxietys real name is Virgil because she accidentally said it and now she's freaking out because he made her promise not to tell anyone, especially us."

I started shaking as I held back tears. I couldn't believe I'd been so stupid to let my actual name slip out like that. I needed to change back to my actual form and deal with this but first I had to think of a way for 'Victoria' to get out of this situation.

"I have to tell him." I said in a quiet voice.

Patton had approached us now and smiled, trying to comfort me. "we could keep it a secret until he tells us."

I shook my head and said "no because if one of you slips up and calls him Virgil he'll know it was me. I'm the only person he's told and I'm the only person who he's trusted completely. He's never going to trust me again. I doubt he'll ever trust anyone again now." I felt a couple tears escape my eyes and I looked down at the floor.

They all exchanged looks and I took a couple breaths and muttered "I'll probably never see any of you again so goodbye. He's going to lose it."

I set off towards my door and as I was about to turn the handle I felt someone place a hand on my shoulder. I turned and was surprised to see Logan.

"We'll all try to explain you didn't mean to if you'd like?" he said and I sighed.

"don't worry about me Logan, just look after Virgil, he'll need it after this." I whispered before entering my room and shutting it behind me, making sure it was locked.

I immediately collapsed on the floor and started to morph back to my original form, completely horrified by what I'd done.

I knew from experience that the others were probably listening at the door so I started to shout and scream at myself, letting all the anger and disappointment I'd been keeping in out.

"How could you?" I shouted at my reflection. "I trusted you and you go and do that?"

I started pacing round my room, shaking with anger and repressed sobs.

"I don't care how sorry you are! You told them! I can never trust you again." I shouted and stormed into my bathroom to wash the remnants of the makeup off and apply my own familiar eye shadow.

When I'd finished I walked in and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror in my bedroom. I frowned and lashed out at it, smashing it with my fist.

"just go! Get out and don't come back." I shouted, still aware of the others outside.

I started picking things up and throwing them, the computer chair at my desk hit the wall and pieces of plastic shot everywhere as the base shattered.

I went silent for a few minutes trying to figure out how it had come to this, my room was utterly trashed.

Eventually I couldn't take it anymore and I burst into tears, my sobs loud and hysterical.

How the hell had I managed to singlehandedly destroy my own life? It was all going great, too great and then I let slip my name. Why!

I curled up on the floor, still crying, and tried to decide if I could go on despite the others knowing my name.

I sat up and managed to stop crying. My self anger and self hatred was still very much present and had become a sort of black haze around me due to how strong it was.

I walked to my door and pulled it open, storming past the people in the corridor, not caring that they saw my tear streaked face.

As I walked the usually white walls began to darken behind me, going grey and darkening to a pitch black.

The others were walking behind me, either trying to have a go at me for the darkening mind space or trying to calm me down, I wasn't sure. I just kept going until I reached the viewing room.

Thomas was on his laptop doing something and hadn't noticed anything amiss yet which I was glad of and in here I could make sure he was alright.

I stopped in the centre of the room and let out a loud angry but pained scream.

The strange dark mist that surrounded me began to dissipate and I collapsed to floor, sobbing and shaking.

I lay there for a while until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I flinched away at first but the soft voice of Patton met my ears.

"it's alright, just let it out." he whispered and wrapped his arms around me in a hug.

I tried to pull away but eventually I gave in and let him embrace me while I broke down.

After a long while the other two also approached where I was still crying.

Roman tried to make a joke to lighten the mood but it didn't work and he was scolded by Patton. 

Logan merely sat down next to me and Patton and put a hand on my back. It wasn't much but it was something and I was grateful for him trying.

I doubted anything would truly comfort me though. My one biggest secret that I had wanted to save for a meaningful moment had been spilled by my own careless lips. I'd singlehandedly ruined everything, same as usual.

Night began to fall and I could sense Thomas getting stressed from my own stress but I couldn't make myself stop.

I cried for hours on end, never once having a second to catch my breath as I let out all the hurt and hatred I'd buried deep within myself. It had been years since I'd had a proper breakdown to clear away all the thoughts and feelings.

The three others had sat on the floor around me each one murmuring comforting words that I failed to hear until Logan got closer and spoke directly into my ear.

"I like the name Virgil, it suits you and when shortened to Virge it can be used in a pun because you're the 'edgy side' and Virge can be used to mean on the edge."

I tried to stop crying to respond and instead started to hyperventilate and gasp painfully. After a good 15 minutes of trying to stop I managed to say in a trembling voice "You made a dad joke."

My voice seemed to momentarily shock them but when they recovered Logan seemed to register my words and had a look of horror on his face as Patton clapped proudly while Roman rolled his eyes at their antics.

Now that I'd stopped crying I felt the embarrassment creeping back up at the knowledge that they knew my name.

I curled up as tight as I could and mumbled "just leave me here and we'll see if I die of shame or not."

I ignored the gasps that caused and tried to focus on my breathing.

"we're not leaving you here, not to die or just so you can be on your own at a time like this. What we are going to do is make sure you know that none of us are going to make fun of you for your name, we won't even tell Thomas what it is until your ready, OK? In fact if you want we could pretend we never heard it and wait until you feel comfortable telling us?" Patton said in a soft voice and I raised my head to glance around at them all.

" you're not going to make fun of my name? " I asked in confusion. The last person I told had immediately laughed at me but they had disappeared one day for which I was both glad and upset.

Logan and Patton shook their heads and Roman muttered "Of course not, you never made fun of our names so why would we do that to you?"

He had a point I guess. I started to uncurl myself and I glanced at the screen where Thomas had climbed into bed and hidden under his duvet due to my uncontrolled thoughts.

" I have to go do something." I mumbled and teleported into the real world to console Thomas.

"hey Thomas, everything is alright." I whispered with am arm around him.

It took a while but Thomas eventually responded "why do you affect me so much? I was perfectly fine and suddenly this came out of nowhere. It's not fair!" his shaky voice and tears hit me hard but I pushed down my own feelings to try and take away the ones I'd accidentally shoved towards Thomas.

"just close your eyes and focus on your breathing. You can do it." I said in a soft voice and when Thomas eventually drifted off I teleported back to the mindspace except this time I appeared in my trashed bedroom.

I quickly locked my door and pulled the duvet off my bed so I could curl up in the darkest corner. Why did I do this to Thomas?

I lay there for ages, ignoring the persistent knock on my door from the others. I needed some time to think everything over. Maybe I should just leave? Thomas would obviously be better off without me messing up his day and then the others wouldn't have to waste time trying to make sure they didn't upset or annoy me in case it affected Thomas.

I decided to try and sleep on my decision. When I woke up tomorrow I'd head out of the mindspace and see of there was anywhere else I could go.


	2. Chapter 2

When I woke up I made sure that my door was still locked and the others hadn't managed to get access.

I quickly concentrated on the only place in the outside world that I knew I couldn't be found.

I looked around and sighed. It appeared that she wasn't here anymore so I'd be alone. I didn't mind being alone but I did miss my friend.

The others had immediately gone on the defensive when she'd come for a visit and introduced herself as Cunning. Apparently they thought she'd try to manipulate them into doing things but I knew she wouldn't do that.

I looked around the small makeshift house she'd created and sighed again. It was kind of like a tree house but sturdier and on the ground.

Suddenly I heard a noise from outside and I froze on the spot, someone or something was right outside.

The noise of rustling and footsteps got louder and I closed my eyes until I felt something warm and furry brushed against my hand.

I looked up and saw a squirrel sitting in front of me, it's head tilted as if it was considering me then there was a flash of light and there sat Cunning.

"it's been a long time since I saw you Anx. What brings you out here?" she said with a smile and enveloped me in a hug as I broke down into tears and explained everything.

"and Thomas hates me so I thought I might as well duck out now instead of waiting for him to get meds to get rid of me." I finished sobbing into her shoulder.

"don't worry sweetie, I'm always here for you. Are you going to tell them you're ducking out or are you just going to grab your stuff and go?" she said, rubbing my back comfortingly.

I shrugged, I hadn't really thought that far ahead, I just wanted to get away from them all and find her. I told her that and she smiled sadly.

" I'm sorry I've not been around much anymore but there's been a slight alteration in Thomas's mind that means I can't stay so I'm stuck outside of his mind from now on. I can still get in and see you but only for a few hours before I get kicked out." she said and I held back more tears.

I felt the sensation of someone trying to summon me but I refused, I was with my best friend and the only reason they needed me was to criticise and blame me for everything.

Cunning noticed the look of irritation on my face and muttered "they're summoning you aren't they? That's a first. Usually they wait for you to appear on your own." I agreed and changed the subject.

"so, anyway, what was the the thing with the squirrel?" I asked ignoring yet another, more insistent summon.

"oh that, that's so I can blend in with my environment, it's a pretty good way to see intruders and stuff." she said. "you should try it." I shook my head and she gave me the best puppy dog eyes she could and I felt myself cracking.

"ugh fine!" I grumbled and she clapped happily. I thought about all the animals I could shape shift into and decided to stick with the basics and turned into a black cat. They were stubborn, loners, hated human contact unless they were in the mood and they could sleep all day without anyone judging.

I heard Cunning laugh and I flicked my ear at her in annoyance. "I'm sorry, you're just so predictable. You make a very adorable cat." she said between laughs and I huffed and turned my back on her, my tail swishing. I wasn't adorable at all.

Cunning eventually stopped laughing and changed as well. She'd changed into a tabby cat and bounded past me, hitting me with her tail as she did.

I rolled my eyes and followed her, ignoring two rather strong summons that probably would have made me go back if I was in human form. I shook it off and chased after Cunning who was way ahead of me.

"wait up!" I tried to shout and surprised myself as a loud yowl came out of my mouth. Right, yeah. Still a cat so talking isn't possible. I glanced up and saw Cunning rolling around on the floor, when I finally got to her I saw she seemed to be doing the cat equivalent of laughing.

I sat there unimpressed, swishing my tail and glaring at her with my unblinking eyes until she finally stood up, panting from laughing. I huffed and turned my head from her but she brushed up against me and started walking back to her house.

When we arrived we both turned back into our original forms and she said "that was quite possibly the funniest thing I've seen. Your expression after you yowled was so shocked and to see that on a cats face was everything." she put a hand over her mouth to stop herself laughing and I crossed my arms and looked away.

"aw C'mon Anx. You know I'm just messing with you. You make an adorable... I mean handsome cat. Definitely not cute or adorable." she stopped midsentence at my glare and I rolled my eyes.

"so what have you been up to?" I asked and she smiled happily "anything I damn well want. It's been amazing. The only thing I'll say is once you go through with it fully you'll never be able to speak to any of the others again. That's why I haven't been able to visit you. I keep getting kicked out after two hours and for some reason I can't speak while in Thomas's mind. I don't really mind because the only person I'd talk to is you but I know you do have moments where you talk to all of them and I know you'd definitely miss Patton. " her voice was happy to begin with but as she continued it got sad and I grabbed her in a hug.

I wasn't a fan of hugs but I would give them if I had to and she was one of the only people I'd be willing to hug.

"I think I'll let the others know I'm ducking out, say goodbye to Patt and grab some of my stuff. I kinda owe it to him for being so nice to me when the others would groan everytime I showed up." I said and Cunning nodded.

I suddenly felt a strong sensation hit me in the chest and I let out a gasp as I fell to my hands and knees, struggling to breathe.

"what is it?" Cunning asked with concern and I managed to mutter "They've managed to get into my room. I've gotta go back and get them out."

Cunning frowned for a second then sighed "OK Anx, I'll miss you."

I frowned "I'll come back, there's no need to be like that." I said, finally able to breathe again.

Cunning smiled but I could tell it was forced. "of course you will, I just wanted you to know that." she said her tone too cheery and light to be real.

I tried to say something but she just said "go, they're more than likely worried about not finding you."

I found myself suddenly back in Thomas's apartment before I could even respond. I sighed and quickly teleported back into the mindspace and into my room.

"If this is Anxietys room then where is he?" Thomas said in an odd voice and I took that as my queue to pop up.

(queue is a funny looking word isn't it?)

"what are you doing in my room!" I exclaimed and flinched as everyone screamed at my appearance. Romans was especially ear damaging.

"Anxiety! I am so happy to see you?" Thomas said, sounding unsure towards the end and I fixed him with a look of disbelief.

"you literally all just screamed in unison upon seeing me." I said in an unimpressed voice, wanting to just get this over with so I could go back to Cunning and find out why she was acting so strangely.

Roman spoke up and immediately insulted me, nothing more than I was used to but the fact they'd burst into my room under the weird impression of seeing if I was OK made it sting a bit more.

There was a little bit of an insult match between Roman and Logan which although was amusing I was getting impatient. "look if I wanted to be insulted I would have just shown up in person like I usually do."

Patton suddenly exclaimed "aw you poor anxious baby!" and I looked at him in slight confusion. There was something off about him. In fact all of them seemed partially off, even Thomas.

Thomas mentioned something about him not feeling my presence and I sighed. "that's because I decided to duck out, decided it wasn't worth it anymore."

I ignored the comments Logan and Roman made and rolled my eyes at Pattons quacking. Thomas seemed confused about why I would choose to duck out so I explained. "No one wants me around, you all made that pretty clear every time I showed up. I aim to protect you Thomas but recently I feel like I've kept you from doing anything."

Patton immediately tried to say I was fine the way I was but I ignored him. I knew Thomas was fine without me, he'd even said so himself on many occasions.

Roman found his voice again and I glared at him, he wasn't helping matters at all. Thomas told him off which took me by surprise but what really got me was when Logan began rambling on about some chart thing.

He went off on a tangent about someone getting decapitated on the it's a small world ride and I shuddered, something was incredibly wrong in this situation.

Logan was speaking incredibly fast but I managed to understand most of what he said. From what I understood he was trying to say that Thomas needed me to function properly and without me he had no fight or flight instinct.

I frowned in confusion as both Logan and Thomas listed reasons of why they needed me. Patton shouted out a reason too, making Logan jump but I felt the tiniest glimmer of hope that maybe they didn't hate me.

"I appreciate you all grovelling and trying to make me feel better, well most of you." I said glancing at Roman who then cut me off with a long speech about me making everyone else better.

A small smile worked its way onto my lips until Roman suddenly shouted "did I do good.?!" Patton started crying and Logan began yelling about his chart which immediately made me realise something.

"uh oh." I said and caught Thomas's attention. "they've all been in this corner of your mind for too long, it's corrupting them to make you go all the way to the other side of that curve. Don't worry we're getting them out of here." I felt a burst of determination and quickly instructed Thomas on the correct breathing exercise.

We all popped up in the real world and the dark circles under each of the others eyes had disappeared. I couldn't believe I'd not noticed that earlier.

Roman stated at me with an odd expression on his voice and said "you... Rescued me."

I ran a hand through my hair and muttered a reply. This was weird. Usually he threw insults at me and I respond likewise.

Patton exclaimed how proud of me he was and I fought down a smile. When he suddenly declared himself brace for not dying from my curtains I even had to hold back a laugh. I frowned slightly as I thought about how it would be to leave the mind space and never see any of them again.

I snapped myself out of my thoughts as Thomas started finishing off his video, which I hadn't realised he'd been filming the whole time. I suddenly had the realisation that although the others knew my name thanks to my own stupid mistake that this was where I could share it with Thomas and the viewers.

I took a deep breath and blurted out "hold on, ugh I can't believe I'm actually considering this." I out my head in my hands and peeked out at Thomas's confused face.

I stalled for time but in the end I just shouted it with my eyes closed. "my name is Virgil! Phew just like ripping off a band-aid."

I glanced at the others first to make sure they didn't announce I'd already told them it and then I glanced at Thomas who looked shocked.

I sighed and Patton mentioned how he'd always thought it would end the same way as the rest of their names and was I sure it wasn't virgan or virgon.

Of course Roman burst out laughing at that and I cringed. That was the very reason I had never shared my name and the very thing the last person I told had laughed at me for.

Thomas made him shut up and said it was an awesome name and I felt my face heating up. Damn it, I wasn't supposed to blush.

Roman eventually said something nice about my name and I smiled, a spark of confidence suddenly appearing.

"you can call me Virge." I said in a sassy, edgy voice and slightly cringed, hoping no one made fun of me for it. When they didn't I felt relieved and Thomas started talking to his camera again.

I thanked everyone for being so supportive and Roman had to go and ruin the good mood by saying "you're much easier to deal with than the others."

"others? what others?" Thomas asked, his face pale and tone worried.

I exchanged a look with Logan and Patton and in turn we all gave a small glare towards Roman before all three of them suddenly said goodbye in their own ways, leaving me to deal with Thomas.

"I know that I'm the one that's making you be suspicious, but save that question for another day." I said and Thomas nodded, looking slightly less pale now.

He said my name and I did a slight double take, not being used to getting called that yet. "you can be a good guy." he said and I couldn't stop the smile that worked its way onto my face as I sunk down to return to the mindspace.

I returned to my room and let out a large sigh. I needed a quick moment to wind down after the stress of everything that had just happened so it quickly put my headphones on and started to relax.

After a few minutes I was interrupted by Logan who complained I'd taken his puzzle book. I rolled my eyes and put my headphones back on only to have Roman interrupt and try to sweet talk me into giving him my Nightmare Before Christmas posters. He left as soon as I said no and as I put my headphones back on I was interrupted a third time.

"what?!" I exclaimed, annoyed slightly. I realised it was Patton who apologised for bothering me and threw a folded piece of paper at me.

I somehow managed to catch it and he left as quickly as he appeared. I frowned and opened the card to see a childish drawing of the four of us under the huge letters "Fam❤️ily!"

I smiled, and shook my head. Patton had never really been good at art but he tried and I appreciated the thought behind it.

I put the paper on my bedside table and pulled my headphones on again.

Halfway through the second song I remembered Cunning. I quickly paused the music and worked out a way to tell her I couldn't leave Thomas. She'd already been acting strange and I didn't know how she'd feel about me not staying with her from now on.

In the end I quickly teleported to her house and wandered around looking for her. I couldn't find any sign of her except a piece of paper. I picked it up and read "Anx, I know you can't leave Thomas and you know how much I hate dramatic goodbyes so I left this to tell you I'm going away. It'll probably be permanent so I just wanted to say I'll miss you and I'm sorry."

I frowned at the last part, why was she sorry? Suddenly there was an agonising pain in the back of my head as something hit me from behind. I collapsed on all fours and managed to turn my face to see the blurry outline of someone in all black. Whoever it was hit me again and I fell unconscious.


	3. Chapter 3

I stood over Virgil and sighed. I hadn't wanted it to come to this but if it was either him or me then there was no question I'd choose myself. It had been a close call and I looked down at my hand which was barely visible.

I smiled, if he hadn't turned up I probably would have just faded away but now I had a chance of surviving. I studied his hoodie in detail and concentrated hard to make an exact duplicate.

I was finally ready to enter back into Thomas's mind. I chewed my lip as I tried to think of a way to keep Virgil from telling anyone else. I couldn't risk them finding out.

I clicked my fingers and where he'd laid was a tiny black kitten. I smirked and picked it up. Maybe I'd bring him with me? I would need him to help me get back to Thomas's mind so I put the unconscious feline in the deep hoodie pocket and concentrated on Thomas.

I popped up in Virgils room, carefully changed myself to look like him and sighed in relief. Now I just needed to not attract attention.

I took the unconscious kitten out of my pocket and placed it on the bed, making sure there was no way he could shapeshift back into his original form.

I smirked as I made a collar with a bell materialise and fastened it around the cats neck. Although Virgil called me his best friend I did so enjoy being in control. It's not in my nature for me to be nice to people.

There was a knock at the door and I froze, unsure what to do because I had no idea if Virgil had sorted everything out with the others yet or not.

"who is it?" I asked and when I heard the voice of Patton say "it's me, I wanted to know if you were going to join us for our weekly movie night." I grinned.

"yeah sure." I replied and walked over to the door to open it. "what movies are we watching?"

Patton smiled at me and said "well obviously there's going to be some Disney ones but if there's anything you want to watch you can suggest it."

I nodded and chewed my lip, trying to think of what Virgil would say. "Nah, Disney is fine. Princey would probably get annoyed if we watched anything else." I kept my voice low, imitating Virgils voice as best as I could.

Patton stared at me for a bit before he responded in a cheery voice. "Possibly, anyway c'mon Virgil, let's hurry up or we'll miss the beginning"

I held back a flinch at being referred to as Virgil. I felt kind of bad for a single second but then again it was either this or fading out of existence.

I followed Patton down the corridor into a room where Logan and Roman were arguing about what to watch first.

"now, now kiddos, don't you think we should let Virgil choose?" Patton said in a mock stern voice with a grin on his face.

Logan sighed and sat down on the sofa while Roman pouted and flung himself dramatically onto a beanbag.

I held back a snort at that while trying to figure out where I should sit. Who was it that Virgil got on with the most again? I think it was Patton.

I sat down on the sofa next to Patton and chewed my lip again. He seemed to look at me for a while before asking "So Virgil, what film do you want to watch first?"

I racked my brain, struggling to remember any of the films Virgil had mentioned liking to me. We never really talked about Disney films either.

"How about Nightmare Before Christmas?" I said, remembering the posters in Virgils room.

Now both Logan and Patton were looking at me strangely while Roman grumbled and struggled to extract himself from the beanbag.

"of course, that's your favourite Disney film so why not." Patton said looking away and I relaxed slightly, I thought I'd messed up.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I sent a meaningful glance at Logan who looked like he was about to correct me but caught sight of my expression. I mouthed the word later at him while Roman, oblivious to everything, was putting the disk in the DVD player.

As the film began I found it hard to get into it as my mind was elsewhere. Virgil was acting strangely out of character and I knew it was only small things but it made me uncomfortable.

I risked a glance at Virgil who seemed to be glaring at the screen as if he wished he didn't have to watch this.

A small frown made it's way onto my face as I tried to think why he'd not corrected me about this being his favourite film. We all knew he loved Black Cauldron.

I glanced at Logan who also seemed to be in deep thought and decided this couldn't wait. I cleared my throat and announced "I'm going to go make some popcorn, Logan can you help get drinks so we don't get dry mouths?"

I stood up and walked to the kitchen, theories going round my head.

When Logan joined me I put a finger to my lips and gestured for him to shut the door. When he'd done so I closed my eyes and focused on making the room soundproof for the few minutes we had to talk.

"OK now we can talk" I said in a serious tone.

Logan looked at me in surprise before asking "what's going on? You've been acting oddly and I'm guessing it has something to do with Virgil."

I sighed and nodded "there's something wrong with him and it's not as noticeable to you guys but there are certain things he does or doesn't do which I've noticed he hasn't been doing since he came out of his room."

Logan frowned and muttered "well I did notice him not asking for us to watch Black Cauldron, he never misses a chance to ask for that film because he knows Roman can't sing along."

"Did you notice how he sat next to me on the couch? That's definitely strange. Although he's comfortable around me he usually sits on the floor because he says he doesn't feel comfortable on the couch." I said quietly before continuing "He also referred to Roman as 'Princey' which is strange as they are constantly calling each other little made up nicknames. Plus he keeps chewing his lip which isn't an obvious difference but I know for a fact that when Virgils thinking he tends to hide his hands in his sleeves more or tap his fingers on whatever he's holding. Occasionally he runs his hand through his hair but I've never seen him chew his lip."

Logan seemed sceptical when I said all this but I didn't have time to explain as we'd already been gone for a few minutes and the others would notice. I sighed and said "I know you don't believe me but keep an eye on him and you'll see what I mean."

With that I dropped the soundproofing, grabbed the bowl of popcorn and walked back to where Roman and Virgil were.

Logan eventually came back into the room with cans of soda for everyone. He handed one to all of us and his eyes widened slightly behind his glasses as Virgil accepted one which was unusual as Virgil hated fizzy drinks.

I was also shocked but I was glad I'd managed to make Logan see I was right.

Virgil seemed to sense me looking and raised an eyebrow at me so I quickly thought of something to further prove something was off with him.

"Come here and give me a cuddle" I whispered and watched his face carefully. I saw his eyes widened in shock and dart around in a panic before he started chewing his lip as he thought.

Eventually he shook his head which I wasn't surprised at, Virgil never gave in to such direct requests like that for cuddles but he'd usually end up leaning against me asleep by the end of the night while I ran my fingers through his hair to keep the nightmares at bay.

This was a waiting game and I was determined to stick it through.

As the night progressed Virgil seemed to get more fidgety until midway through beauty and the beast he stood up and announced he was going to bed.

The alarm bells in my mind immediately went off. It was barely half ten and we usually stayed up till 3 in the morning most nights. I glanced at Logan who was frowning thoughtfully and I could see even Roman did a double take as he checked the time and saw how early it was.

There was not a single night where Virgil went to bed before Roman so this was serious.

As soon as Virgil had left I sat next to Logan who had a look of worry on his face.

"I was just looking through all the readings I've been doing of Thomas's mind and there's a few instances where there seems to have been a breach." his voice was low so Roman didn't shout at him to shut up.

I frowned and glanced at the information on Logans phone. I pointed to a couple and said "This looks like Virgil left and returned to the mindspace, which is fine but look here where he exited but then where he came back today there's something odd about it. It looks familiar."

Logan also examined the part I'd pointed at, his face annoyed as he couldn't understand what was happening.

Suddenly a thought struck me and I leapt up and ran out of the room. I thought I remembered why that had looked so familiar so I ran to my room where I kept my files.

I rummaged through them until I found the relevant date. A scowl settled on my face as I noticed the same inconsistencies. This was just like before.

I pulled my phone out and took pictures of the information on the page before quickly putting everything back and walking back to the room where Roman was.

I glanced around, not seeing Logan anywhere. I pulled my phone out again and messaged him to meet me in the viewing room. I set off to the viewing room and waited.

Eventually a red faced Logan appeared with something clutched in his arms.

As he drew near I realised it was an adorable black kitten.

Before I could exclaim how cute it was he muttered "I was walking towards Virgils room to maybe talk to him when suddenly this kitten bolted out the door as if he'd been spooked. He ran right into me then froze in some kind of panic stricken haze before keeling over unconscious."

I reached towards the cat and raised an eyebrow as Logan seemed reluctant to allow me close.

"I wasn't going to pet him, I was going to see if he had a name tag on his collar." I said with a small pout, once again cursing the fact I of all the traits managed to get the cat allergy.

The collar had no name tag but it made my fingers tingle slightly. I frowned and said "Logan rest your fingers on the collar a second."

He did so with a confused face before his eyes widened and he mumbled "Tingling, that means the collar has been conjured using the mindspace energy."

I nodded and frowned as I tried to take the collar off only for it to remain stubbornly around the cats neck.

"Have you tried taking this off?" I asked gesturing to the stubborn collar. Logan shook his head and sat down on one of the chairs, placing the cat on his lap while he too tried to take the collar off.

He failed to undo it and we sat for ages trying to figure out what was going on when suddenly the cat began to stir.

We watched as suddenly the cat opened its eyes to reveal startlingly familiar brown eyes. It looked up at me with what seemed shock before opening its mouth as if to talk but only strange meows and yowls came out.

Logan picked the cat up, ignoring the sudden panicked struggling, and raised it so he could look into its eyes. The cat went still as brown eyes met brown eyes and Logan seemed to gasp.

"You're Virgil aren't you?" he asked in barely more than a whisper, making me freeze.

The cat moved its head up and down in an unmistakable nod and I immediately remembered what I'd called Logan for.

"I think I know who's been masquerading as Virgil. Remember those inconsistencies? Well it happened a while ago around the time where a certain trait was trying to gain more power by convincing someone to share their power with her. That's the reason I banished her from Thomas's mind. Cunning is pretending to be Virgil but she needed him to get back into the mind so she must have transformed him into this rather adorable kitten."

At the end of my little speech the cat we now knew was Virgil had jumped off of Logans lap and was pacing up and down, hissing and spitting angrily.

Logan and I didn't need to speak cat to know what he was saying definitely wasn't polite.

I ignored Virgils pacing to try and work out a way to turn him back I to himself.

I tried to concentrate really hard but none of my usual abilities seemed to work. My eyes locked onto the collar and my eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Virgil stop a second so I can get a close look at the collar." I said and making sure not to touch the fur to avoid the allergic reaction, I examined the collar, testing the energy of it to try and work out what it's purpose was.

My eyes widened as I realised the collar doubled as a way to stop Virgil becoming himself again.

"The collar seems to be the reason I can't change you back but maybe if me and Logan concentrate we can break the energy she's used." I said, encouraged by the determined expression on Logans face.

Virgil shrugged and sat down as we closed our eyes and forced our energy to strip away the energy keeping him in cat form.

"oh hell that's so much better" came the familiar voice of Virgil as he suddenly stood before us in his regular form. He stretched causing his joints to pop and crack, making me cringe while Logan rolled his eyes.

Logan stood up and was about to speak when he froze and his face began to go red from anger.

"That awful collar is still round your neck." he growled and I felt my body shaking from all the anger I was having to bite back. All this was surely not good for poor Thomas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I froze at Logans voice before reaching up to my neck where the damn collar was still resting. I felt a surge of anger go through me but as soon as it dead I felt lightheaded and dizzy causing me to fall to my knees.

"Virgil are you OK?" came the concerned voices of Logan and Patton.

I groaned and shook off the feeling before explaining what'd just happened.

Logan let out a horrified gasp and I just about managed to look up at his pale face as he explained "That collar wasn't just to keep you in cat form, it's also draining your power and energy."

Patton and I froze as we registered Logans words before Patton started pacing, wringing his hands as he thought furiously.

It took a little longer to process for me but eventually I did and I felt so used.

I sank down onto the floor staring into the distance as I tried to properly understand everything. One of my only friends had been seemingly using me the whole time for more power and then knocked me out and turned me into a cat while playing the role of me, using energy she was draining from me via the collar she used to bind me to the cat form.

I didn't realise I was crying until I was handed tissues by Logan and Patton enveloped me in a hug. I let myself break down in Pattons arms the same way I'd done many times before, except this time I had Logans hand on my back in a comforting way as well.

Eventually I managed to compose myself and I pulled away from the hug with a murmured "thanks"

I let out a sigh as I ran a hand through my hair while I tried to think of some way to combat Cunning.

She had already become strong due to the collars draining power so I didn't dare try and use any of my energy because I knew she'd sap it away from me and use it against me.

I looked at the other two who seemed to also be deep in thought.

Suddenly we heard Romans voice shouting angrily from down the corridor.

"I just wanted to check up on you! Sorry for being concerned!"

"Well maybe I don't want to be checked up on. You really should learn to knock Princey!" came the shouted response and I stood up quickly unsure what was going on but determined to stop it if things got out of hand.

"Princey? Your can't even call me by my name anymore? What's wrong with you? You've been acting weird and your voice is all weird." came the offended voice of Roman and I cringed at the slightly hurt tone.

I started walking down the corridor towards the argument and stopped as they came into view.

"I have no idea what you're talking about and I'd recommend you keep that big gob of yours shut before the others hear." Cunning said in a low voice which made me scowl as I struggled not possible get too worked up or she'd drain me again.

"or what? You gonna cry at me? You can't hurt me physically because we both know I'm the strongest." scoffed Roman and I clapped a hand over my mouth to stop myself crying out as Cunning let out a mocking laugh before using the large amount of energy she now possessed to throw Roman backwards into a wall.

Patton could no longer stand by and watch and went out to confront her before either me or Logan could stop him.

"hey, you. Leave Roman alone and pick on someone else." he shouted.

Cunning tilted her head and smirked "ah Patton, are you suggesting I pick on you?"

Patton glared at her and muttered "I know you're not really Virgil and I'm not going to let you hurt anyone."

Cunning cackled before taking a step closer causing me to want to help Patton but Logan pulled me back.

I frowned at him but he just shook his head and whispered "I think Patton has a plan."

I watched as Cunning and Patton glared at each other for a few seconds before Roman reappeared watching both of them warily.

"You can't stop me this time Patton, I'm stronger than you now all thanks to a handy little device that I created. You can't banish me anymore." Cunning stated with a smile that was anything but pleasant.

Patton quickly raised his hand to do something, I'm not sure what, but Cunning was quicker and had shoved him backwards so hard he fell over.

Roman seemed to spring into action as he tried to pull his katana out, but Cunning clicked her fingers so it appeared in her hand instead.

I swallowed nervously as she toyed with the blade before lowering it so the tip rested just above Patton who was still on the floor trying to get his breath back from where he'd hit the floor and been winded.

"You're all so pathetic, it would be so much easier if I just got rid of you all and started from scratch or even just ran everything myself. Oh I can just imagine what having all that power would feel like." she taunted before dropping the katana to the floor with a malicious grin.

She stepped forward and crouched down. "I'm going to enjoy ending you Patton, just imagine all I could do if I had yours and Virgils power running through me. Ah it will be glorious."

She stood up and reached out a hand which seemed to start siphoning Pattons energy.

A growl erupted from my lips as I sprang forward and tackled her to the floor, unable to stand by and watch as she drained any of the others.

She quickly shoved me off and let out a laugh as she noticed me.

"ah Virgil, come to enjoy the show? You've got first row seats but I'm afraid this isn't an interactive show." she taunted and suddenly I was on the floor screaming as my entire body began to spasm in pain.

"That collar you're wearing is more than just a pretty accessory." she shouted over my screams. Eventually the pain stopped and I lay gasping for breath with tears streaking my face.

I managed to lift my head to look at the others. Patton had silent tears running down his face and Roman seemed to have frozen in place with a look of horror and fear.

"Leave them alone." a voice said from behind Cunning and I noticed Logan holding something in his hands.

Cunning just laughed "You really think that's going to stop me? That's just a silly little book."

Logans face broke into a grim smile. "This isn't just any book though, this is where all of your actions are recorded. Because even though Patton vanished you it still updated as you were never completely removed from the mind, that's the only reason you were able to come back at all."

Cunning waved him off, rolling her eyes and set her eyes back on me.

"You know Virgil I expected a little more from you. You're supposed to be on par with Patton with the amount of energy you have but I've only gained just enough from you that I can overpower Patton and that's it." she stated.

I pushed myself up into a sitting position, ignoring the way my entire body screamed in protest at the movement, and sent a glare her way.

Suddenly Logan slid the book he was holding across the floor to me and gestured for me to read it.

Hesitantly I opened the book to a random page and read a small paragraph.

'Cunning smirked as she slowly siphoned power from Patton, thinking of how easy it would be just to kill him and become even stronger but she held back, she didn't need gullible little Virgil to find out just yet.'

My face paled as I realised this was from before she'd been banished. I read another part and felt white hot anger surge through me.

'Cunning crept out of Virgils room as he eventually fell asleep and made his way to the viewing room where she could see Thomas. She had siphoned enough power to be able to materialise before him. She popped into existence and shook him awake with a grin.

Thomas woke up and looked at her in confusion. She ignored that and focused on her stolen energy. Eventually it began to swirl around her and she began to chant under her breath "Anxiety is the bad guy, don't listen to him."'

I recognised the date as the same day as when Roman had physically hurt me for accidentally making Thomas freak out.

The knowledge that Cunning was behind most of the hatred and suspicion towards me made something inside break.

The collar around my neck snapped and fell to the floor uselessly as a dark black haze formed around me.

I stood up and sent a look of pure hatred towards Cunning who had lost control of her energy and had transformed back to her original form.

"It was you!" I snarled, my voice loud and booming as it echoed around the mind space.

I took a step forward, the black haze swirling wildly around me and darkening the walls.

Cunning tried to use the energy she'd already stolen from me but at a mere thought from me she was frozen in place by tendrils of my energy.

"You took advantage of me, you stole the energy from me and my friends, you made everyone hate me, you manipulated me but not anymore. I see you for what you really are and I'm going to do what I was created for." I spat stepping closer to her.

"But Virgil..." she tried to plead but another tendril of my energy wrapped over her mouth to shut her up.

"you are a threat towards Thomas and my entire job is to protect Thomas and eliminate threats. That means you!" I hissed.

"Virgil?" a tentative voice asked and I turned to see Patton shakily getting to his feet. "What are you going to do with her?" he asked, his voice becoming a little stronger as he glared at Cunning. 

A cruel smirk twisted onto my face. "I'm going to permanently banish her and destroy all the records and evidence that she even existed. The only way we'll know she existed is from our memories but that's not enough for her to sneak back. She'll fade away all alone, like she should have before."

I turned back to Cunning who had a look of fear on her face as she heard her fate.

"Anything you want to say before you're banished?" I asked, pulling back the tendril from her mouth.

She frowned and chewed her lip before she shouted "Virgil was Victoria because he wanted to mess with you and he lied to you all!"

I froze in horror before letting out a scream of rage which resulted in her being thrown away from me at high speed.

Just before she hit a wall and fell unconscious she had a triumphant smile on her face.

Silence reigned as the black haze around me slowly dissipated and the walls returned to the usual colour.

I kept my eyes on the floor as my shoulders shook from repressed sobs and anger towards Cunning.

Even in defeat she'd found a way to mess with me. I could feel the others eyes on me but I didn't turn around, I just stood there.

Eventually the silence was broken by a quiet voice. "Virgil? Is it true?" I recognised the voice as Logans and I managed to pull myself out of my frozen state and tried to make a run for it.

Before I could make it a hand wrapped around my arm and pulled me back. I turned around in panic and noticed all three of them with matching faces of worry and concern.

I feebly tried to pull away from Patton, who had been the one to grab me, and when I failed I ended up collapsing while a flood of tears ran down my cheeks.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." I said repeatedly under my breath, my hands over my face as I began to rock backwards and forwards.

Three pairs of arms wrapped around me making me flinch but it was the soft words being spoken in my ear that made me sob even harder.

"We don't blame you for being Victoria, we still care about you." Patton whispered.

"Victoria was capable of talking Disney, doing the chores and performing which just means you can do all that and I admire you for it." Roman said, catching me off guard enough that I stopped sobbing and just gasped for breath.

"You know you gave me some very interesting theories while in your female form and you made me question my sexual preference but now I know it was you it all makes sense." Logan said in such a quiet voice I almost didn't hear.

I raised my head in shock, my eyes locking onto Logan who looked a little flustered but still gave me a warm smile.

"What?" I managed to gulp out ever so eloquently.

"I think he's referring to when Roman and him were fighting over who got to date you while you were Victoria." Patton said with a small grin at the other two who were now red in the face.

"I... Er..." Roman said shyly while Logan fidgeted, his face almost as red as the sash Roman was wearing.

I stared gobsmacked at the pair of them as I registered what exactly was being said.

"Wait that was with me as Victoria... What about... Now?" I asked carefully, not sure I wanted them to answer.

Roman was the first to respond. "well... Er... Yeah."

My mouth dropped open and stayed like that as Logan also answered.

"yes, of course." his voice didn't waver and he locked his eyes with mine, shining with honesty.

I couldn't form any words and when Patton added "You're pretty adorable Virge" I let out a squeak and hid my now red face.

"I'm not adorable." I mumbled.

"That's like saying Thomas can't sing." Logan said "It's obviously a falsehood."

I rolled my eyes but a small smile snuck onto my face.

After a small moment of silence I remembered Cunning who was laying unconscious on the floor still.

"we need to banish her before she wakes up, I don't know if I can pull off that weird black haze thing again." I said in a tired voice.

Patton quickly stood up and went to grab the other record books while Logan picked up the book that he'd slid to me.

"how did you know that me reading that would cause me to react like that?" I asked.

Logan sighed and replied "I honestly didn't know if it'd work but the other day, when you were angry and upset about your name being let slip before you were ready, you had the same black haze. It felt so commanding and strong that I thought if anything could stop Cunning it would be that. I had only experienced you wielding your power like that when you were extremely emotionally charged so I tried to get the same result with the book."

I wasn't sure how to react to being an experiment but I had to admit it had worked in the end.

As Patton walked back in and placed all the files pertaining to Cunning on the floor, Logan stepped forward to put the book down but it was tugged from his hands by Roman.

We looked at Roman in confusion as he flicked through the book.

"I'm sorry, I just need to figure something out." he murmured before his eyes went wide as they flicked back and forth while reading.

As he finished reading he threw the book on the floor in disgust.

"I just needed to know how badly she'd messed with me because I can't help but feel I'm the one responsible for most of your suffering." Roman said in an annoyed but sad tone.

I reached a hand out to put it on his arm in an awkward attempt at comforting him and said "I forgive you for everything, it's all her fault not yours."

Roman seemed to relax as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and I turned back to the small pile of papers before pulling a box of matches out of my pocket, ignoring the surprised, questioning looks from the others.

I lit a match and threw it onto the paper, watching in satisfaction as it was engulfed immediately. 

Eventually Patton produced a cup of water which he used to put the fire out and all that remained of Cunnings records was ash.

With that done I walked over to where she lay and quickly focused on banishing her back to where I remember she used to live.

It was a little difficult and took a great deal if concentration as I scrunched up my face, my eyes shut tightly as a painful prickling began in my forehead and it felt like my head was going to explode.

I felt the air around me change ever so slightly then there was a small crack and I felt myself knees give out.

I opened my eyes tiredly and noticed I'd done it. I sighed and tried to shut my eyes again but strong arms lifted me to my feet while someone else pleaded for me to open my eyes again.

I opened my eyes again reluctantly, swaying slightly as exhaustion caught up to me. "She's gone for good." I mumbled, absent-mindedly wiping away something that had trickled down my face.

I pulled my hand away to see a red streak and froze in confusion. I glanced at the others who once again looked worried.

"I'll be fine I just need some sleep I think." I muttered, my eyes closing again.

I just about managed to reopen them enough to see Roman and Logan approaching me while Patton cleaned up the mess from the fire.

"it's OK Virgil you can sleep now, we'll make sure you get to your bed safely." Logan said with a small smile.

I gave him a tired smile and mumbled a quiet "thanks" to both of them as I felt someone, probably Roman, pick me up and start carrying me to my room.

I was so drained I didn't even complain, I just let myself drift off feeling comforted by how much the others cared. Things were going to be better now.


End file.
